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Topic: JAMES CAMERON (Read 24980 times)

Director James Cameron told SCI FI Wire that he will begin shooting his ambitious, as-yet-untitled SF movie as soon as this November with the 3-D high-definition video cameras he developed for his Titanic documentary Ghosts of the Abyss. "I'm writing it," Cameron said in an interview at the Saturn Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. "It's very futuristic; [it] takes place in a distant future, and [there's] lots of wild action and amazing characters and, hopefully, a very emotional journey as well. We're setting that up for release ... about this time of the year in 2006, Memorial Day or somewhere around that."

Cameron also reported that he and writer Dario Scardapane (Posse) are refining the script for a proposed remake of the 1966 SF movie Fantastic Voyage. "We have a pretty good script, [but it] still needs to go another iteration," Cameron said. He added that he will find a director for it, but hasn't decided whether it will go forward or not. And he left open the possibility that it, too, could be shot in 3-D, though likely not.

The movie will update the original Raquel Welch SF thriller, about scientists who shrink themselves and are inserted into the bloodstream of an ailing spy. "How do you sell that concept to people?" Cameron said. "For me, the thing in cracking the script, which we've done, was figuring out the social context. Because ... the first film was made in the mid '60s, I think it was '66, and it was a Cold-War-era thriller. And it was about a battle between two superpowers. We're projecting into an age where we're looking at information totalitarianism, where in the pursuit of security in a world of terrorism, people have given up their freedom to an information state. And so, in ours, there are no good guys and bad guys. There are, you know, these two vast blocs: The Coalition and The Alliance. But really, the government is the enemy. So it's a whole different kind of spy thriller than the one in '66."

Cameron added, "The writer is Dario Scardapane. He and I have been working together on that for about a year now. We're not quite there yet. It was a tough nut to crack."

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

it's fucking awesome, that's why! i would LOVE to see a 3d version of fantastic voyage, that would kick all kinds of ass.

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The corpses all hang headless and limp bodies with no surprises and the blood drains down like devil’s rain we’ll bathe tonight I want your skulls I need your skulls I want your skulls I need your skulls Demon I am and face I peel to see your skin turned inside out, ’cause gotta have you on my wall gotta have you on my wall, ’cause I want your skulls I need your skulls I want your skulls I need your skulls collect the heads of little girls and put ’em on my wall hack the heads off little girls and put ’em on my wall I want your skulls I need your skulls I want your skulls I need your skulls

mogwai

James Cameron's on-again off-again sequel to "True Lies" [1994] is still very much alive, Moviehole has learnt today.

Cameron is currently planning to produce it under his Lightstorm Entertainment and reimagine it more as 'a James Bond type film and not a pre terrorist action film', which after the events of September 11, Cameron decided he definitely didn't want to make.

There's no start date for the film - which will probably feature either Russians or a German Neo Nazi group as villains - but we're told that it may be Arnold Schwarzenegger's first film out of office.

James Cameron won't be directing the film, he'll only produce. No word on whether Tom Arnold or Jamie Lee Curtis are involved, but Arnold Schwarzenegger has already expressed interest apparently.

Schwarzenegger originally said he wouldn't do a Cameron-less "True Lies 2". But he also said he wouldn't do "Terminator 3" without James Cameron either and at the end of the day -money talked and the cyborg rose again.

In "True Lies", Schwarzenegger played Harry Tasker, a super-spy who hides his real job from his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis). The film made quite a nice penny worldwide and was one of the biggest flicks for Schwarzenegger in quite some time. The sequel has been on-again off-again for the best part of five years.

Movie star Harrison Ford is in talks to star in James Cameron's new epic - in 3D. Hollywood has so far kept quiet about the project, which will be a science-fiction extravaganza - according to gossip site The Scoop. But Ford is reportedly slimming down for the film, because he fears 3D cameras will make him look fat. According to sources, a technical expert warned him, "If the normal camera adds 10 pounds, think how a 3-D camera can blob you up." The actor, currently involved with actress Calista Flockhart, is expected to film another Indiana Jones film within the next few years as well, if all goes according to plan.

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

A few weeks ago, we mentioned the possibility that Paramount was going to be releasing a new special collector's edition of James Cameron's Titanic in 2005. We have a little bit of new information. The DVD production work on the title will be handled by 20th Century Fox. Word has leaked out of Fox's European operation that the title is expected to be a 4-disc edition, tentatively set for release in the Summer of 2005. This seems to confirm what we've heard from our industry sources - specifically that the studio was considering a 4-disc presentation. However, from what we've heard, production has not yet officially begun on the title (or is only just starting to happen). NOTHING is set in stone about this release yet, and our sources are telling us that a late 2005 (4th Qtr) release at the earliest is more likely. So don't start counting your chickens yet, but if you're a fan, be comforted in knowing that a better DVD version of the film is finally on the radar in a more substantial way.

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

mogwai

Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...Finally... straight from the horse’s mouth. Yesterday, James Cameron was interviewed on NPR, and you can find the archived interview here. If you want to hear him talk about his next film, fast-forward to about 31 minutes into the piece, close to the end.We’ve been saying this for months now... maybe longer... but Cameron has confirmed all the details I’ve written about here on the site. BATTLE ANGEL is the next film, pre-production is underway as they finish up the shooting draft, the main character will be completely created using CG, and the film will be shot in 3-D.The majority of the interview is about his new film ALIENS OF THE DEEP, and we actually got in a letter from someone who was at the premiere screening of the film, which I’ll excerpt here:... so that’s how I ended up seeing a press screening of ALIENS OF THE DEEP on Thursday morning in NY. Thank god for sneaky friends, you know? Overall, I liked the movie a lot, but the 3D is still a little problematic. Cameron mentioned that they are going to redo the main title, so that’s not a big deal, but there are some shots in the film that just made my brain hurt. I can name three in particular:

There’s this one CG graphic that starts in space and zooms down to the bottom of the ocean that is pretty amazing, and you get a real sense of vertigo as you’re zooming past ships until you get underwater. But the 3D is screwed up somehow. If it gets fixed, this’ll be an amazing moment.

There’s also this very cool winged octopus that just doesn’t seem real because of the 3D. It doesn’t work right.

And then there’s a simple depth perception issue with some of the shots of the people inside the submarines, like we're too close to them. It can get disorienting.

It’s not an action movie, obviously. It starts slow and takes its time getting to the main subject, but when you do finally see all the fish and the other crazy underwater creatures and the black smoking chimneys, it’s incredible. I’m willing to put up with that weird 3D headache to see such a cool alien environment and such bizarre critters so close you can almost touch them. I think it would help if I had a science background or if I’d done the same amount of research that Cameron obviously has. The brief narration really helps, but I could use more of it. I wasn’t sure what was going on sometimes. Cameron’s one of those super-smart guys who forgets sometimes that we aren’t all as knowledgeable as him.

Also, what’s with the obsession on bacteria? It doesn’t make sense at times. Cameron says in the film that he thinks it’s beautiful, but I’m not sure how it all ties together.

Thanks to our reviewer, and also to NPR for finally getting Cameron to go on the record about BATTLE ANGEL. I’ve heard he has a firm start date for this summer, so get ready, kids... Cameron’s finally coming back!!

Since becoming the king of the world seven years ago with "Titanic," James Cameron has spent much of his time in the underwater world, making 3-D documentaries about his deep-sea explorations.

But the director is finally coming up for air and returning to science fiction with "Battle Angel," a three-dimensional movie set in the 26th century.

Cameron, who also directed "Aliens" and the first two "Terminator" movies, told The Associated Press he's in preproduction now and expects to start shooting in May or June. The film will take two years to make and will include about 1,500 visual effects shots.

"It's based on a series of graphic novels done by a Japanese artist called Kishiro," said the 50-year-old, whose "Titanic" won 11 Academy Awards including best picture and best director, and is the highest-grossing film of all time.

He wouldn't discuss casting for the movie, but said, "It's going to be a combination of live action and (computer graphics) but done photorealistically. There will be CG characters and live-action characters."

He plans to use updated versions of the three-dimensional cameras he used to shoot last year's "Ghosts of the Abyss," his IMAX movie about diving to the real Titanic wreckage, and the upcoming "Aliens of the Deep," another IMAX documentary about underwater exploration for which he worked with NASA scientists.

"We were originally going to release it in '06. We decided to wait 'til '07 because we're trying to ride the impending wave of digital cinema," Cameron said. "The digital cinema projectors are 3-D compatible based on the way that we want to do the 3-D display, and 35mm projectors are not. So we'll release the film in both 2-D and 3-D theaters."

At that point, though, you'll still have to wear those dorky red-and-blue cardboard glasses to experience the 3-D visual effects.

"Oh yeah," he said. "No 3-D without glasses."

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

"For Love of the Game" scribe Dana Stevens has signed on to adapt "The Dive" for James Cameron and 20th Century Fox. Cameron is expected to direct the feature, which is based on the true-life love story between free divers Francisco "Pipin" Ferreras and his wife, Audrey Mestre. Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment acquired Ferreras' life rights, along with a cover story from Sports Illustrated on the diver. Cameron is producing with his Lightstorm partners Jon Landau and Rae Sanchini. "Our intention is that James will be directing another feature next year," Landau said. " 'The Dive' will hopefully be the follow-up project to that." Another project in the works at Lightstorm is "Battle Angel," based on the manga comic "Battle Angel Alita." Stevens' other credits include "Blink," "City of Angels" and "Life or Something Like It."

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

James Cameron on Battle Angel! Source: ComingSoon.net January 10, 2005

Titanic director James Cameron, whose new IMAX film Aliens of the Deep opens January 28, talked to ComingSoon.net about his next project, the big screen adapation of Yukito Kishiro's anime comic Battle Angel Alita.

Can you describe the genesis of the project?Cameron: A few years ago I started down this path of creating this 3D camera system and once I started working in that, I couldn't imagine myself going back and shooting with the camera that I used before. It just seemed like going back from a car to a bicycle, and I don't want to ride a bicycle again, so the question is, at what point can I use the kind of imaging that we're able to do now for a feature film? That's taken a few years to put together and the pacing item on that is digital cinema, the changeover to d-cinema, which is going to be happening throughout North America and eventually Europe and so-on, where they are literally going to replace every projector in North America in the next five or six years, however long it takes, because in order to display the stereo, the 3D, you need to have those digital projectors. I need those theaters, so I've sort of been waiting until the right moment to make a big movie and we believe that moment is now. So we're in pre-production now on a movie called Battle Angel, which is based on a Japanese Manga series of graphic novels by an artist named Yukito Kishiro. It's not in the sort of top ten of graphic novels in Japan; it's a lesser known one, and we're going to make Battle Angel over the next couple of years and release it in '07. By early summer of '07, we expect to have somewhere around a thousand digital 3D theaters that will be able to show an image that looks more or less like what you saw in the IMAX theater but the IMAX theater was film, and this is going to be digital projection.

This will be shown in multiplexes?:Cameron: Multiplexes everywhere. All cities, all territories. And yeah, you'll wear glasses, obviously.

Which timeline do you intend to focus on?Cameron: It's a bit of a mélange of the first three books, which means that it pulls forward the motorball story into the Ido, Alita, Hugo story, if you will.

Will it be live action?Cameron: Live action and CG mixed, meaning we will build sets, we'll shoot with actors and we'll have CG characters. Alita will be CG; she'll be performed by an actress but what you see in the film will be CG.

Like Gollum?Cameron: That's a very good example.

Do you have any casting choices?Cameron: No. We have some stuff we're working on, but it's kind of premature to talk about it.

Marquee names or just unknowns?Cameron: They won't be unknown. They'll be very recognizable names, but I don't see this as a star vehicle per se.

Is this the future of cinema?Cameron: Uh, TBD. I don't know yet. It's the future of cinema for me, if I can make this work with these digital theaters. The next time we shoot, we're going to use the new generation of the camera system, which is the new Sony SR compression, so it's inherently got a little more dynamic range and a little better resolution, and we'll do the Lowry processing, or Lowry-type processing on top of it, so we think we're getting to a level where we're basically the equivalent of capturing two side-by-side 4K images, and that's like so much more information than you need. It really allows us for a theatrical feature, I could blow the image up double and still have more resolution than a 35mm film.

With all of your opportunities is filmmaking for yourself more than an audience?Cameron: If I'm making a feature film like when I'm doing Battle Angel or some of the other projects I have planned for after Battle Angel, I know I'm making a film for an audience. I can't just please myself.

What is the basic plot of Battle Angel?Cameron: 26th century, the story takes place 300 years after a societal collapse caused by a major war, but in that society, it's a technological dark age following a pinnacle of achievement far, far beyond where we are right now. So in a sense it's post-apocalyptic, but it's post-apocalyptic from a very high level. So now, you've got cyborg technology as just a way of life. People are augmented a lot as workers and so on, so being a cyborg is not unusual. The main character is a cyborg. She has an organic human brain, and she looks like she's about fourteen years old. She has a completely artificial body and she's lost her memory- she's found in this wreckage and she's reconstituted by this guy who is a cyber-surgeon who becomes her kind of surrogate father. It's a father-daughter relationship story that just has the most insane action that you can imagine. It will be PG-13 -- lots of blood, but it's all blue."

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Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.